My procrastination occasionally causes me great stress. Then there are those occasional times that it benefits me. This time is the latter. I have been meaning to post another article on the 2011 1B option for the Cubs (and I will…eventually!), but I’ve been thinking about school and being lazy. Then, I saw that the Texas Rangers had signed Mark Prior. I knew immediately that the aforementioned Cubs article would have to wait (a bit more on that shortly).

So, I was set to start an article on the reappearance of Mark Prior. Of course, though, I was too lazy. I played Call of Duty. I managed my fantasy baseball teams. I banned TrueBlue (I’m sure there were cheers). Well, it all worked out in the end, because now that I shook off the apathy, I started this article on the perfect day.

If Prior can return to his dominant form and stay healthy out of the bullpen, he could possibly snag himself a deal with another big league club this offseason.

Why is today the perfect day? Because Mark Prior made his debut for the Oklahoma City RedHawks, the PCL (AAA) affiliate of the Texas Rangers last night. When I started following baseball, Prior was the guy I latched onto. He was my favorite player, and will always be, whether he comes back on a white stallion or flames out in the minors and gets hurt again. In his one inning of work, Prior threw 16 of his 28 pitches for strikes, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out a pair of Omaha Royals (he lucked out of facing Mike Moustakas, thankfully). While the RedHawks ultimately lost 9-1, it was a rare occurrence where you could legitimately claim a moral victory.

Anybody who has followed baseball for more than a couple of years knows the story of Mark Prior. #2 pick (behind Joe Mauer). Can’t-miss prospect (leading to that record bonus; a record Stephen Strasburg broke last year). Savior of the Cubs. Well, it seemed to be that way back then.

Prior came onto the scene in Chicago in 2002, after making the AA and AAA hitters he faced to start the year look like children. He posted a solid 3.32 ERA in 19 starts, good for a 122 ERA+. The following season, there was no minor league stop to make. It was his time, and everyone knew it.

Working off of his previous season’s success, Prior was a dominant ace for the Cubs, as they worked their way into the playoffs behind a deadly pitching staff (anchored by what was thought to be an unstoppable force of Carlos Zambrano, Prior, and Kerry Wood–plus Matt Clement and Shawn Estes). Even looking now, I wonder how he managed the numbers: 211 1/3 IP, 18-6, 2.43 ERA, 1.103 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 4.9 K/BB, 179 ERA+*

*Looking into the 2003 Cy Young voting, I saw Prior finished 3rd. Who won that year? Eric Gagne, and his 337 ERA+, 337! Seriously, what happened to him? You don’t forget how to pitch like that.

Of course, if you know the success, you know the failure. No need to go through the stats, but here’s basically how it went:

Steve Bartman robbed Moises Alou of a catch (that he said he couldn’t get, then said he could). Prior and the Cubs imploded in Game 6 after that, then in Game 7. The Florida Marlins won the World Series, one that Chicago could have gotten if they went into a matchup with the New York Yankees with Prior, Wood, and Zambrano. Then the injuries came.

Honestly, I was too young to remember it all. It was just a constant, depressing blur. The shoulder went. Prior came back. It went again. There was the collision that started it all. There was a liner off of his elbow–the one thing I can still vividly remember; seeing it slam off his elbow. Watching Aramis Ramirez dive into foul territory to make the catch (yeah, he was hit so hard he produced a line out in foul territory to third). Knowing he was gone for a LONG time (even someone as young as I was knew elbows don’t survive that).

This was my guy. I followed him almost religiously. He was my first baseball jersey. Heck, he was baseball to me. I watched all of this, and I didn’t wonder if the baseball gods hated him. I wondered if they hated ME.

He made a few attempts to come back in Chicago, but he kept ending up under the knife. Over. And over. And over. Eventually, the magic was gone, and Prior was, too. He made a couple of attempts with the San Diego Padres, but to the same disastrous ends. But he got an indie league to sign him this season.

Prior made a few appearances, totaling 11 innings. He struck out 22 of the 44 batters he faced. His fastball sat in the 90-92 range, close to what he typically threw pre-injuries (according to him; I was too young to care for MPH when I watched him). Apparently, that domination was enough to convince Texas to take a chance. So far, so good.

Now, here we are, more than 9 years after Prior was Stephen Strasburg. He’s turning 30 tomorrow (September 7th), older than the 21 he was when he made his MLB debut, but nowhere near Jamie Moyer.

Sadly, though, he was signed a few days short of the postseason deadline, but that may be for the best. He can finish up the AAA season and throw some side sessions, all at his own pace. Then, next year, he can show up to Spring Training with the chance to earn a roster spot.

He said himself he doesn’t care about where he gets slotted. Of course, he’s not going to be made a starter (maybe in a year or so, he could, but unlikely). He talks of taking a middle reliever’s job, hoping to be given an occasional 8th inning job. Who know? Maybe he can follow in his former rotation-mate Kerry Wood’s footsteps and become a closer.

But no matter what happens, I’ll still be here–awaiting this rehab as eagerly as the first.

Fans were excited for the new pitcher their favorite team had drafted and now signed for record money for a drafted player. He was at least 6 feet and 4 inches tall, around 220 pounds, and had a sizzling fastball, a great breaking ball, and he could finally lead the franchise out of the funk it was in.

This Nationals fan believes Strasburg is their savior....

The above could describe Stephen Strasburg, but it also described the phenom before him: Mark Prior. If you haven’t heard the name on ESPN, it’s because Prior, who was once considered the savior of the Cubs franchise, had his short career ended by a boatload of injuries.

In his first pro season, Prior had a season ending injury, a strained hamstring running the bases in a game. Strasburg, in his first full season, now has 2 DL stays, the first being an inflamed right shoulder, and now this one being a ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear, necessitating a Tommy John surgery and a predicted 12-18 months of recovery. That means he will miss the entire 2011 season, but it seems hopeful that he’ll make it to the 2012 season.

Prior and Strasburg both followed the same path to the major leagues: a few great starts in Double-A, some good ones in Triple-A, and then its on to the majors. They both lived up to expectations right from the start. However, both face the same arm action issue.

...but how will all of baseball know if he'll ever live up to his potential?

In what baseball coaches call the inverted-W motion, Strasburg and Prior both put their elbow above their shoulder when they windup. Chicago White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper was on an XM radio show on June 29th, saying, ““The real concern is what I call an upside-down arm action. I am not wishing (Strasburg) bad, but for him to be having problems right now when they are really, really watching him, what are they going to see when they are trying to get 220 innings from him? He does something with his arm action that is difficult, in my mind, to pitch a whole lot of innings on.” Cooper compared Strasburg and his arm and potential issues to, guess who, Mark Prior and another pitcher whose incredible stuff was diminished due to arm issues, New York Yankees pitcher Kerry Wood.

So what can this all mean? It could mean nothing at all. Strasburg can come back healthier than ever and better than ever, still hurling 98 mph fastballs past the major leagues. But this Tommy John surgery is a devastating blow to MLB, the Nationals, but most of all, Strasburg himself. Baseball will have to make-do with Jason Heyward being the elite player of the future for now(which isn’t so bad). But we can only look at this time as either a simple obstacle for the next big thing, or another what could have been.

Edit: 9/1/10: I was looking around for views on this, and this is Tim Dierkes’ view on MLBTR Live Chat: